One of the consistent claims of the United States oil shale gas industry and its method of production involving “fracturing” has been “we’ve never had one confirmed case of groundwater contamination.” Well, that is a claim that can be made no longer.

Santiago, Chile is a bustling capital, where Laura Burgoine worked for a newspaper in a barn, strolled the streets full of buskers and hawkers and waited hours for a Pisco Sour (the nation’s signature cocktail) to be served.

Underneath the ashes of the exploding volcano, Chilean students are on strike. Paul Kearney heads to a school in Chile, where students have taken control and are cooking their meals in the canteen, refusing to leave.

Laura Burgoine left Melbourne bound for Chile with no contacts, zero Spanish skills and no real accommodation at the other end, armed only with a Macbook and the foolish delusion that this might just work.

Watch as the 33 Chilean miners are brought above ground after 68 days of being trapped in a collapsed mine shaft. Chilean president Sebastian Pinera has promised to hug every miner as they are freed and so far, so good.

Thirty-three Chilean miners remain entrapped underground, where they’ve been stuck since a mine collapse on August 5. These stunning photos show their families making contact with them above ground and grainy photos of miners themselves.

September 30, 2010 will be remembered as a historic day in Latin American and Ecuadorian history. The twice-democratically-elected government has survived a coup d’état, but the pattern of force pervades the continent, writes Leo Codutti from Argentina.

Intrepid independent sommeliers Ben and Dan were in South America recently, tasting their way from Argentina to Chile (tough job innit?). What did they learn? Competition with Aussie wines is about to heat up.

There’s a very strong man made reason why the Chilean earthquake will not be as destructive as the recent Haitian one. Chile knew its cities were on natural faults and the government had building codes were in place to prevent damage.